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The separatist forces of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), known as "cordon de sécurité", armed and supervised by the United Arab Emirates had taken the presidential palace in Aden on August 10, 2019. REUTERS / Fawaz Salman / File Photo

The tension is falling in Aden, the big city of southern Yemen. The separatists in southern Yemen began withdrawing positions on Saturday, August 17, which they had seized in heavy fighting last week. The separatists had clashed with forces loyal to Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, which foreshadowed a crackdown on the side of the Houthi Shiite rebellion.

The southern separatist forces have withdrawn from the seat of the government, the Supreme Council of Justice, the Central Bank or the Aden hospital ... The evacuation must continue on other sites, such as the Ministry of Interior and Refinery.

All these positions were won last week by the Transition Council of the South, a separatist movement that wants a new partition of Yemen, which does not prevent for several years to fight alongside the loyalist forces of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, with the Yemeni Houthi rebellion as its common enemy, which controls large territories, including Sanaa, the capital.

In its statement on Saturday announcing the start of the withdrawal of separatists, the coalition reiterated the same goal, calling for " joining forces to defeat Iran's destructive plan in Yemen " and not " giving terrorist organizations to attack the Yemeni state ".

Behind the united front, in appearance, the differences ...

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been active in recent days to bring calm to Aden and to avoid the installation of a new front in the war in Yemen. Saudis and Emiratis are the main members of the coalition who went to war four years ago in Yemen to try to roll back the Houthi rebels.

But on the ground the two regional powers do not have quite the same alliances. Saudi Arabia dreams of handing over control to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, while the UAE has forged strong ties with southern separatists who are pushing for a return to Yemen's division into two states, a situation that prevailed until 1990.

This week, the strong man of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed ben Zayed , nicknamed MBZ, went to Saudi Arabia to show the strength of the alliance between the two countries that sent a joint delegation to Aden.

But behind the united front in appearance, the differences are there, as shown by the recent decision of the Emirates to partially withdraw their troops from Yemen.